What Might Have Been
by Magnolian Wolf
Summary: What if Naruto's fellow classmates at the Academy scored diffretly on their tests to become genin? What if they were paired into diffrent groups of three? Follow the story of Team 7... Kurenai, Naruto, Ino and Neji. Currently no pairings.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One - Sanin

_It was_ the day_. He could barely tell it from the others, it began so normally. He woke up, groggily ate his breakfast, (a sandwich and milk) and got dressed in his favorite ninja outfit- the orange one with blue stripes._

_Just when he was about to put his goggles on his head, he remembered. He wasn't a student anymore... he was a gennin! He gently placed his new headband on his forehead._

_"Uzumaki Naruto, awesome-est gennin." He did a pose for his mirror. _

"Today you are no longer mere students of ninjustu, but full fledged shinobi. But, among the ranks of shinobi, You are mere novices, lowest of the low. Your greatest challenges lie ahead. "

Iruka strode across the classroom, a clipboard held behind his back. "The next step is the assignment of offical duties to you all on behalf of our village. We will begin by dividing you into three-man cells. Each will be mentored by a _jonin, _or senior ninja... Who will guide and coach you into becoming familiar with missions."

I don't care who I'm teamed up with, as long as Sakura is in the group... anyone else will do just fine. Naruto rubbed a bump on his head... how he got that is a whole diffrent story.

"I made the sections so that each cells abilities wold be approximately equal." It seemed like forever. Finnally, Naruto's name was called in cell seven.

"Cell seven... Uzumaki Naruto, Hyuuga Neji, Yamanaka Ino." Awww, man. He forlornly left his seat next to Sakura to join up with his teammates.

Neji was a head taller than him, which added to his impossing demeanor. His hair was long and black. His eyes were a blank violet. Naruto squinted and raised himself on his tipie-toes, looking for a pupil.

"What are you doing?" His voice seemed to evoke the same attitude. It was kinda freaky, actually.

"N-Nothing!" Since when did you stutter, Naruto? Damn you.

He turned away from Neji to look at Ino. She had long blonde hair and was wearing a pure purple outfit. She had an eerie resemblence to his own justu, Ninja centerfold. Ha. That'd be freaken halarious.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2- A Great Start

Naruto watched as various teams get lead by their Jonin out of the classroom. Then he heard a feminine voice behind him.

"Hello, I'm Yuhi Kurenai, your new teacher. Let's go out to lunch and get to know each other a little." She smiled a sweet closed-lipped smile. The trio looked at eachother, and then followed her.

The resaurant was a small shop towards the edge of Konoha, so they had some talking to do on the walk.

"So, lets start with you..." She pointed at Naruto. Tell me a bit about yourself."

She was such a kind person... the answer seemed to flow easily. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto, and I love ramen. I also like pranks and jokes. Anything funny really. I dislike the 3 minute wait for your ramen to get done... its even longer when I go to Ichiraku's! But its worth it. " He paused momentarily. "When I grow up, I want to be the best shinobi ever, even better then the Hokage! Then everyone will have to aknowledge me!"

"And you?"

"I'm Hyuuga Neji. I like... silence. I dislike sweets. When I grow up..." This seemed to be a large struggle for him. "I'll probably want to be young again."

Kurenai chuckled. "That's true. Now our leading lady?"

"I'm Yamanaka Ino. I like... boys. Well, a boy. He's so dreamy."

Not another Sasuke fangirl! Why does that prick have so many girls fighting over him?

"I also like flowers. My parents own a floral shop, and I work in it sometimes. I dislike when my hair gets messy. When I grow up, I want to be like my Dad."

As if it had been rehearsed, they reached the restaurant after Ino's small speech. "I guess you'll be ordering ramen then?" Kurenai nodded to Naruto, laughing.

The meal was silent for a while until Ino finnaly broke the ice. "Kurenai, what about you? I mean... what do you like and stuff?"

Kurenai held her chopsticks in the air, looking up at the ceiling. "Well... I like surprises. And presents. I disklike the bad kind surprises... And my dreams are a secret."

Naruto slurped his ramen greedily. Neji kept giving disgusted looks. Ino was off in her own world, stroking her exceedingly long hair. This trio would be very interesting... according to Iruka, Naruto was the worst in the class, Neji the best. Ino was somewere in the middle. Sure, the test scores seemed to suggest that they would work well in tandem, but there personalities suggested otherwise.

"Okay, guys." Kurenai rapped her chopsticks against the edge of her bowl to gain the attention of her students. "Tommorow we're going to start our training. I'd like

you all to come to the edge of Konoha, near the gate, at around 8 in the morning."

She rose to her feet. "Until then, I suggest you finish your food and get to know

each other better. I have some... bussiness to attend to."

Naruto was briefly curious as to what his new sensei was doing, but there WAS ramen in the vicinity. He sloshed the noodles down his throat. "Naruto, that's nasty..." He lowered his bowl to give a scowl to Ino, and then continued eating.

Beside him, Neji sighed. Fate was a cruel woman indeed. It wasn't the first time she had spit in his face though- he was used to it. He remembered how it all began... He had been branded into silence, as was his father... his father died because of them! How he hated them. They had controlled him from his very birth, making his life miserable. Yes, Fate had a vendetta against him.

"Are you guys not going to say ANYTHING?" Ino did a little humph, crossing her arms over her chest. "I'm stuck with you people, I might as well learn how to deal with you. The way I figure, Naruto is going to be a fat pig by the time we become chuunin, and you-" She pointed to Neji. "Aren't going to end up saying anything by that time. Pig and Silence. Freaken joy."

"Who do you think you're talking to?" Neji's voice came out cold, like the remains of food on the table in front of him.

Silence filled the table. Naruto had finnaly finished his ramen and was wiping his mouth quietly on the back of his sleeve. Ino was staring blankly at the floor, mouth slighly ajar.

He didn't appologize. Kurenai had already paid the bill, so the trio left with no goodbyes.


End file.
